Reclining mechanism for barbers&#39; chairs.



E. E. KOKEN. REGLI'NING MECHANISM'FUR BABBERS' CHAIRS'.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 14, 1903.

'Patented Mar. 21, 191'1.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

E.E.K0KEN.

RBGLINING MEGHANISM FOB. BARBBRS CHAIRS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 14, 1903.

987,580. Patented Mar.21,191.1.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Attest' Invwzaf:

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E. E. KOKEN. REGLINING MBGHANISM POR BARBERS CHAIRS.

APPLICATION FILED MY14, 1903. 987,58@ Patented Mar. 21, 1911l 3BHEETS-SHEET 3.

ERNEST E. KOKEN, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURASSIGNOR TO KOKEN BARBERS SUPPLY I, A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI.

RECLINING MECHANISM FOR BARBERS CHAIRS.

esteso.

'0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST E. KOKEN, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Reclining Mechanism for BarbersChairs, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to barbers chairs, and particularly to theintermediate connecting means between the back of the chair and theapron which carries the foot-rest.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a view of a barbers chair, in sideelevation from the base to the enlarged head of the piston and angesupported thereby, and in section above that point, showing said newconnecting means in its position relative to the other parts of thechair; Fig. 2 is a sectional view through the piston-head, illustratingthe location and arrangement of a means for locking the connected backof the chair and apron in any desired position; Fig. 3 is a sideelevation, partly in section, of the lever for controlling the verticaladjustment and rotation of the chair body; Fig. 4 is a top plan view ofthe means intermediately connecting the back of the chair and the apron,showing` same with the parts in position for the occupant to recline;and F ig. 5 is a perspective View of the cha-ir with the upholsteredseat removed, but shown in dotted lines, so as to sho-w the frame forsupporting saine, and means connecting the frame with the apron.

Heretofore, in chairs of this general class it has been customary toconnect the reclining mechanism of the chair to the chair seat, the backof the chair being, also, pivotally connected to the arms of the chairand the latter again pivotally connected to the upper portion of theapron, and the whole manipulated by power applied to the back by theperson operating same either to recline or to assume an uprightposit-ion. The reclining mechanism has usually been arranged so thatpower was communicated `by means of said arm-rests to a portion of theapron or projections thereabove at a point on said projections nearer tothe arms than the point at which said projections pivotally connectedthe foot-rest to the chair seat, the apron and its said projections thuspivoted operating like a lever of the first order, the foot-rest beingSpecification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 14, 1903.

Patented Mar. 21, 1911.. serial No. 157,032.

the weight, whereas in applicants present construction the partsoperateas a lever of the third order.

Referring to the drawings, in which like numbers of reference denotelike parts wherever they occur, 1 is the base of the chair, 2 thepedestal which is in the form of a cylinder, in which the piston 3reciprocates, said piston being enlarged at its upper end into thecasing 4, through which the shaft 5 enters.

The chair-back 6 has projections or cheeks 7 adjacent to its lowerportion, saine being pivotally connected at 8 to the side-frames or arms9 of the chair. Located at such a point in the projections 7 as to givethem the operative eifect of levers, are the pivotal connections 10between the projections 7, carried by the chair-back 6 and the upwardprojections 11 from the seat-support 12. This seat-support 12 may bearranged to comprise a pair of sidebars 13, connected by cross-bars 14,thus forming a frame. The seat-support has at its rear end the upwardprojections 11, and at its forward end the upward projections 15. Theside-bars 13 are in the form of angle-irons, having the horizontalflanges 16 arranged angularly with relation to the upright portion 17 ofthe side-bars 13. Depressione 18 are formed in the flanges 16 of the twoside-bars 13 to receive the ends of the cross-bars 14, so that they arecountersunk therein and rest upon the plates 19, which are formedintegral with the fianges 16 and underlie the depressions 18. Said endsof the cross-bars 14 are pierced by openings through which, at one end,the pins or lugs 20 pass, said lugs being formed integral with theplates 19, and being retained in position by the cotters or splitpins 21passing through the lugs 20. At their other end, the cross-bars 14 areiXed to the other flange 16 by the bolts 22 or other suit-able means.

The side-frames 9 may be connected to the piston 3 by any suitablemeans, so as to move vertically and rotatably therewith, and arepreferably rigidly connected together as, for instance, by thetransverse body-supporting portion 23, which is supported by the piston3, being shown in the drawings as borne by a flange 24 integral with thecasing 4 formed on said piston, and adapted to move vertically with saidpiston, and carrying with it the superstructure of the chair, ashereinafter described. The sidemembers 9 may be further braced, ifdesired, for the sake of greater rigidity, by the rear rail 23a, or likeelement.

The upholstered seat 25 rests upon the flanges 1G, and is held fromhorizontal movement by the pins or lugs 2() borne by the plates 19,which pins fit into suitable sockets (not shown) in the frame-work ofthe upholstered seat 25, the construction of the upholstered seat beingof the common character.

The projections 15 are pivotally connected at 2G to the levers of thethird order 27. These levers are fulcrumed at the pivotal points 28,and, by said pivots 2S, are connected with the side-frames 9. The levers27 form the supports for the apron 29, which carries the foot-rest 30.The seatsupport 12 being pivotally connected at 2G to the leverscarrying the apron 29, and at 10 to the chair-back 6, and the back 6being pivoted at 8 to the side-frames 9, and the levers 27 being alsopivoted thereto at 2S, and the seat 25 resting on the seat-support 12,it is obvious that the parts that carry the occupant of the chair dependfrom the pivots 28 and 8, and are adapted easily to swing thereon whenmotion is imparted to the back G by the barber, the side-frames 9 beingmeanwhile stationary. For greater security when the side-frames 9 aremade of wood, the pivots 2S and 8 are inserted into the wood through theplates 31, each of which is embedded in the wood flush with its surfaceand fastened thereto by two or more screws 32, thus forming a iixed andstrong metal bearing for said pivots.

When the chair is in the reclined position shown in Fig. l, thefoot-rest lock-bar 33 is tightly held by the clamping pieces 34 and 35,which normally lock said lock-bar 33 by reason of the pressure of t-hesprings 36 against the plate 34E, which tends to press the plate 31against the bar 33, and the latter against the plate 35, the lock-bar 33being thus locked. The plates 31k and 35 are pivotally united to eachother by the hinge 87. The elongated screw-bolts 38, also, connect them.

When it is desired to place the back and foot-rest in the position forthe occupant of the chair to recline, the operator releases the lock-bar33 by rotating the shaft with the hand-lever 89, and, grasping thechairback G firmly in his hand, pulls same backwardly and depresses sameto the desired angle. As the chair-back is pivoted at S to theside-frames or arms 9 of the chair, it will thus swing downwardly, and,being pivotally connected at 10 to the projections 11 of theseat-support 12, it forces said seat-support 12 in a forward horizontalline (the real character of that line being, however, a slight andpeculiar but indescribable curve or series of curves) by reason of thefact that it is stationarily pivoted at 8 arid again pivotally connectedat 10 at sucha distance from its axis of rotation on the pivotal-point 8as to cause the lever 7 'to impart to it a substantially horizontallongitudinal forward movement. This horizontal longitudinal forwardmovement of the seatsupport 12 causes the projections 15 to push thelevers 2T, which connect the apron 29 and foot-rest 30 to theseat-support l2, and in this way to raise the same on the; pivotal pointor fulcrum 28. llVhen the desired movement has been accomplished and thechair reclined at the angle sought, the footrest lock grasps thelock-bar 33 and all of the parts connected with the .reclining mechanismare immediately locked in the position above stated. lVhen it is desiredto return the chair back to the upright position the lock-bar 33 isunlocked, the barber with his free hand raises the chair-'back G to avertical position, which causes all the parts to move in the reversemanner to that above described, and returns same to the positionillustrated in Fig. 1.

It will be obvious that it is not essential that the seat-support shouldbe formed of the frame consisting of a number lof separable parts, ashereinabove described, but the seat-support may consist simply of onesolid plate or piece, or of a rectangular or other frame formed in onepiece. Moreover, the chair-back and apron can be pivoted directly tosaid frame or plate instead of to projections rising thereabove, such asthe projections 11 and 15 mentioned herein.

The necessities of a barbers chair are that the chair-body (asdistinguished from the seat only) shall be adjustable vertically; thatthe chair-body (including the apron and chair-back) shall be rotatable;and that the apron shall be adjustable for the recumbent position of thechair-occupant by manipulation from the chair-back. In a barbers chairit .is of paramount import-ance that all these operations shall beeifected with the greatest ease, celerity, and convenience, for thereason that a barbers chair is used to receive a large number ofoccupants in rapid succession. The stay of each occupant in the chair isbrief, each one of them is usually more or less in a hurry, theoperation of shaving, for instance, occupies such a short period of timethat unless the chair were adjustable very quickly in the three waysabove mentioned, the customer would become impatient at theunproportionate length of time occupied in adjusting the chair for thebarbers convenience as comn pared to the length of time consumed in thetonsorial work. Such conditions are not present in surgical chars, forinstance, because in surgical operations the highest interests of thepatient are at stake, and usul i l i ,into suitable position. Moreover,in surgical chairs, in order to provide for a large variety of positionson the part of the patient, the seats are usually arranged so that they(apart from the chair-body) may be moved vertically, and also that theymay tilt or tip forward and backward and sidewise. In the use ofsurgical chairs the patient occupies a large number of positions utterlyunlike the single position which is assumed by t-he occupant of abarbers chair while being shaved. It is obvious, therefore, that in asurgical chair there is no necessity for rapid manipulation of thecha-ir, as it is more important that the patient should be placed in aposition which will afford the surgeon the easiest access to the part tobe reached by the knife. For instance, the patient sometimes kneels onan extension of the side-arms of a surgical chair. On the other hand, inthe case of barbers chairs, not only is it necessary, as above setfo-rth, that the chair shall be manipulated with speed and facility,but, on account of the large number of adjustments of the chair in thecourse of a day, it is evident that a very special simplicity andsolidity of construction in a barbers chair is not only desirable, butnecessary. If the construction of a barbers chair were as complicated asthat of most surgical cha-irs, it would soon, due to the frequency ofmanipulation, become rickety and unserviceable. Uf the constructionpresented by this application, it is not too much to say that itembodies the acme of simplicity and is especially adapted for use in abarbers chair, and has been found in practice to give the highestsatisfaction and to constitute one of the most important improvements inbarbers chairs in recent years. It is, furthermore, clear that in vie-wof the manner of manipulation of the reclining mechanism exhibited inthe present application, as well as of the well-known heavy constructionof ,barbers chairs, it is essential that a barbers chair shall beprovided with a weighty base. This weight is conveniently provided inthe chair illustrated in the drawings of the present case in means forthe vertical adjustment of the chair which is hereinabove described as anecessity in a barbers chair. Thus, in a barbers chair the weighty baseallows for the vertical adjustment of the chair-body, the chairbody issolid and substantial, and the reclining mechanism7 which isparticularly the object of the present application, is connected withsaid solid and substantial chairbody, forming part thereof, and thewhole unites in a perfect and true combination to form a chair suitablefor the purpose of a barber and specially adapted to his exigencies, andhereafter referred to in the claims as a chair of the type described.

In the claims the word base refers not only to the base proper l, but toall that base portion of the chair, which includes the pedestal Q also,as distinguished from the chair-superstructure, which comprises theside-frames, the chair-back, the apron, and the part 23 connecting theside-frames from which tlie piston depends.

Having thus described my said invention, what l claim and desire tosecure by Letters- Patent is;

l. n a chair of the type set forth, a support having side frames and aback thereon, a seat-support having side members formed of angle bars,the ends of the vertical portions of which are extended upwardly to formprojections, cross-bars fixed at their one end to the horizontal portionof one of said angle-bars and having openings formed in their otherends, lugs carried by the other of said angle-bars and received in saidopenings, said lugs adapted to project into the frame of the upholsteredseat to retain the latter against horizontal movement, an apron, saidapron and back being pivoted to said projections.

2. In a barbers chair, the combination with a base having anupwardly-opening cylinder of a chair-body rotatively and reciprocativelyconnected with said cylinder, said chair-body constituting a unitarystructure comprising three members, namely, a pair of side-memberscross-connected by a transverse member spaced from said base, and saidthree members being stationary relative to each other when the chair isassembled, and said side-members providing support for the arms of thechair-occupant stationary relative to said transverse member and to thehereinafter-mentioned chairback, seat-support, and apron; a seat-supportlocated above and spaced and severed from said transverse member andmovable longitudinally forward and backward thereabove in a linethroughout its entire movement approximately parallel to said transversemember; a chair-back and an apron both pivoted to said side-members,said seatsupport being pivoted to said back at points below the pivotsconnecting said back to said side-members, and said seat-support beingpivoted to said apron at points below the pivots connecting said apronto said sidemembers, there being a single member on each side of andprojecting from said chairback to receive within same the pivotalconnection of said chair-back both to said seatsupport and to saidside-members; and locking means connected with said apron and saidpiston, said locking means being so connected with said piston as to becapable of rotation and reciprocation therewith, andv being so connectedwith said apron as to be capable of locking same (and said seat-supportand chair-back) against forward and backward movement.

3. In a barbers chair, the combination with a base having anupwardly-opening cylinder of a chair-body rotatively and reciprocativelyconnected with said cylinder', said chair-body constituting a lunitarystructure comprising three members, namely7 a pair of side-memberscross-connected by a t-ransverse member spaced from said base, and saidthree members being stationary relative to each other when the chair isassembled, and said side-members providing support for the arms of thechair-occupant stationary relative to said transverse member and to thehereinaiter-mentioned chairback7 seat-support, and apron; a seat-supportlocated above and spaced and severed from said transverse member andmovable. longitudinally forward and backward thereabove in a linethroughout its entire movement approximately parallel to said transversemember; a chair-back and an apron both pivoted to said side-members,said seatsupport being pivoted to said back at points below the pivotsconnecting said batk to said side-members, and said seat-support being`pivoted to said apron at points below t-he pivots connecting said apronto said sidemembers, there being a single member on each side of andprojecting from said chair-back to receive within same the pivotalconnection of said chair-back both to said seat-support and to saidside-members; locking means connected with said apron and said piston,said locking means being so connected with said piston as to be capableof rotation and reciprocation therewith, and being so connected withsaid apron as to be capable of locking same (and said seat-support andchair-back) against forward and backward movement; a shaft borne by saidchair-body for actuating said lock; and means for operating said shaftmounted thereupon.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of twowitnesses this 28th day of April, 1903.

ERNEST E. KOKEN.

fitnesses MAUD E. LnTcI-IER, HUGH K. VAGNER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner oi Patents. Washington, D. G.

